Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 24

“But Now You Are...” [Matt's Messages]

“But Now You Are...”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchOctober 17, 2021 :: 1 Peter 2:4-10
Something wonderful has happened to us.
Something wonderful has happened to you and me, and it has changed our status.
It has changed our identity. 
Something wonderful has happened to us that has changed who we really are.
And Peter wants to tell us about it.
Peter is just bursting with the news. He wants us to know what we have become.
In many ways, 1 Peter is full of bad news, or at least difficult news to absorb. Peter often has hard things he needs to tell us, things we don’t necessarily want to hear. He has to tell us about some very hard things that we are called to do. And about some very hard things that we are going to endure.
He’s already told us that we are going to go through fiery trials. That does not sound like fun! And Peter says that they are normal and to be expected. There are more fiery trials on the way. And he’s already told us that we are displaced. That we are not home yet. That we are exiles, aliens, strangers, foreigners not in our true homeland.
He’s going to hit that even harder in verse 11 when we get it to it next time.
But Peter has also told us some glorious wonderful beautiful things about us already, as well.
He’s told us about our inheritance. About that living hope that we’ve been born again into. About how perfectly safe our inheritance is being kept for us in heaven. And about how we are receiving the goal of our faith the very salvation of our souls. Prophets searched intently to understand and angels long to look into these things.
But he’s got even more to say about these wonderful things that have happened to us and how it has changed our very identity.
If you look on the back of your worship bulletin, you’ll see that I’ve entitled this message with four words that are lifted right out of our last verse for today, chapter 2 verse 10. 
“But Now You Are...”
You had been one thing, but now you are something completely different, and it’s completely wonderful!
All because of Jesus Christ.

“But Now You Are...”
#1. LIVING STONES.
In this message, I’ve going to try to summarize verses 4 through 10 in just two big ideas. And the first is from verses 4 through 8 which teaches the wonderful truth that Peter’s readers including you and I are now “living stones.”
Now that is a strange combination of words if I ever heard one!
Living. Stones.
Stones that are alive.
That should make you sit up and think a little bit.
Why living stones?
By the way, it’s a metaphor (or actually a simile). We are not literally made out of stones. We may be living, but we’re not actually stones. We’re like living stones.
I think that Peter wants to bring together the idea of stability and power. Strength and life. A stone is something solid and stable and strong. And life is, well, life! It’s vibrant and animated and powerful. 
And he’s also drawing his imagery from his beloved Old Testament. 
I’ve mentioned several times already this Fall that the Apostle Peter loved his Old Testament. He has just come off of alluding to Psalm 34 in verse 3, “now that you have tasted that Lord is good.”
Now, Peter reaches back into Isaiah 28, Psalm 118, and Isaiah 8 all of which talk about stones. Let’s see what he says. First verse. Chapter 2, verse 4. 
“As you come to him, the living Stone [there is One “the Living Stone!”]–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him–you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Stop there for a second.
Do you get a picture start to form in your head?
There’s One great big stone that is alive. It’s Personal. It’s a Person. But He’s so solid and stable and strong that He’s also a Rock.
And Peter says that his readers (that we) are coming to Him. And in the previous verse the him was the Lord. He’s the Living Stone.
He was rejected by men (more on that in verse 7), but He was chosen by God and precious to Him.
“This is my Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.”
And as we come to Him, which happened at our conversion and happens every time and every day as we move towards Christ in faith, we are living stones ourselves. Our lives have stability and even more than that we are being used in a great spiritual building project!
We’re part of a glorious construction project.
Peter says (v.5), we are “being built into a spiritual house.” I think like a temple.
A house for the Spirit.
Do you think of yourself as building material?
Something you might pick up at Lowes or YBC?
In the ancient world, they didn’t have concrete block. When I preached this same book 20 years ago, we were in the process of building our home in Lanse. And I stole one of the building blocks for the foundation and brought it up here to the pulpit to illustrate the point.
But they didn’t have concrete block. They had stones. The best builders would look for the best, most solid, most strong stones to join together to make the foundation and even the walls of the building they were building. And they would especially look for one great big strong stone to be the cornerstone.
And build everything off of that. Look at verse 6. Peter is quoting Isaiah chapter 28  when the Lord Himself announced a great building project upon which He was embarking. Verse 6.
“For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’”
We know that this building project is the Kingdom of God and we know Who the cornerstone is, as well. Don’t we?
Who is it?
It’s Jesus. Notice that it says that He is “precious.” Same word as verse 4. 
And the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
Doesn’t that sound good? 
These precious people that Peter was writing to were probably experiencing shame being put them. Foreigners often are. Foreigners are often shamed.
But Peter says that Isaiah says that God says that if you put your trust in Jesus (The Living Stone!) you will never be put to shame before Him.
However, you will be put shame if you refuse to put your trust in Him. V.7
“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’” 
There he’s quoting Psalm 118 and Isaiah 8.
Jesus Himself used Psalm 118 to describe Himself. Peter probably heard Him say it Himself many times.
The builders looked around for a cornerstone, looked for a capstone, and they found Jesus! But then they threw Him out. They crucified Him on the Cross. They rejected that Living Stone.
But Jesus was Chosen by God and precious to Him.
The stone at the tomb was rolled away, and this Stone lived again.
And became the capstone!
Notice how consequential those decisions are. 
If you reject Jesus, you stumble and fall. 
But if you trust in Him, then you will never be put to shame. 
Have you come to trust in Jesus?
I invite you to do so right here and right now.
He’s the Living Stone!
He’s what you want to build you life upon.
And even more than that, He transforms you and me into a wonderful part of His glorious building project.
Here’s what you are if you are trusting in Christ:
Living Stones. V.5 again.
“[Y]ou also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
This is wonderful.
It’s a little foreign to our ears, but just think about it a little bit.
I think he’s saying that you and I are each a stone in a great big temple being built.
A place filled with the Spirit, filled with the worship of God.
Paul talks in a very similar way in Ephesians chapter 2. You might want to read it this afternoon.
And one of the things I love about that is that you and I are not in the temple, but we are the temple. We are the living stones that make up the spiritual house.
Turn to the person next to you and say, “We are living stones.”
See we don’t need a building. Buildings are nice to have. This is a great building. But this isn’t the church. This is the church. The folks out there are the church. The folks in here are the church.”
“We are living stones.”
We are a part of something supernatural and wonderful.
And we are in this together.
These people may have been foreigners but they were foreigners together, right?
Last week, “love one another deeply from the heart.” Because we are in this together.
We are like bricks being placed right up next to each other. Or those stones out front of our building. As we come to Him, He is taking each one of us and building something beautiful out of us. Together!
And then in verse 5, he mixes the metaphor. He says that we are being built into a spiritual house “to be a holy priesthood.”
So it’s a house that is also a group of priests. 
It’s not one or the other. It’s both/and. We’re both the temple and the priests inside of it kind of I guess. 
Do you think of yourself as part of a holy priesthood? You better! Because that’s what Peter says your being included into.
Priests represent God to humans and humans to God. And so do we.
I’m not a priest any more than you are, but we both together are! 
And here’s what we supposed to do. Application. V.5
- Offer Spiritual Sacrifices Acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
That’s what we get to do! We get to offer spiritual sacrifices (not physical ones, not bulls and goats and lambs and all of that Old Testament stuff but spiritual sacrifices) pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.
Like what?
Like our bodies. Romans 12:1“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Or like our money. Philippians 4:18-19, “I have received ... [the monetary] gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Or like our praises. Hebrews 13:15-16, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
See, we get to make those sacrifices now. We get to offer those sacrifices.
Because we are living stones TO BE a holy priesthood.
What sacrifices are you offering today?
What sacrifices are you to offer this week?
Not to impress God! Not to earn anything. These sacrifices are “through Jesus Christ.” He’s the One who has already impressed God! He’s already made the propitiating sacrifice. We just add ours as grateful worship through Him. 
Because we are living stones. 
Unless you aren’t. Some people hear all of this, and they reject Jesus. V.8 
“They stumble because they disobey the message–which is also what they were destined for. [But not Peter’s readers and hopefully not you and me. V.9] But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
#2. GOD’S OWN PEOPLE.
“But now you are the people of God.”
Not just living stones, but God’s own chosen, royal, priestly, holy, special, people upon whom He has bestowed His sweet mercy.
I love these verses!
I told Heather Joy yesterday that I didn’t want to preach this message because I love these words so much and I know that I can’t begin to do them justice.
Something wonderful has happened to us.
This is who we are.
It’s important to know who you are.
If you don’t know who you are, somebody will slap a label on you and tell you who they want you to be.
This is who we are. Look down at verses 9 and 10. This is who we are.
Together. This is a corporate reality. This is the whole Church, not just us each of us as individuals. V.9 again.
“But you are a chosen people...” 
Some of you have “chosen race” there. The Greek word is “genos,” and it is sometimes translated, “family, race, nation, people, offspring, descendants, sort, or kind.”
Remember, the Christians were not all of one racial or ethnic group. They were from all over. Maybe originally from Judea. Maybe originally from Rome.
But they were scattered throughout Asia Minor. “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia...”
But Peter says that they are all one people in Christ, whatever their race.
And they are chosen. They are elect. They are wanted. They are accepted. They are beloved. 
If you are in Christ, you are in the chosen people of God. Feel that!
But there’s more. Peter says, “But you are” “a royal priesthood.”
Verse 5 said that we are a holy priesthood. Verse 9 says that we are royal.
The language here is drawn from Exodus chapter 19, verses 5 and 6.
The people of Israel were supposed to be a holy priesthood that had a holy priesthood.
And now the Church is living up to all that Israel was supposed to be.
We are a royal priesthood.
Try those words on for size. What an honor! Do you know that you are royalty? You are a Son of the King of the Universe. You are a Daughter of the King of the Universe. You are in the royal family.
And you’re not just royal. You are priestly. You represent God to other humans.
We do. Together! All of us. “The priesthood of all believers.”
This is who we are!
Think about the honor this is. Think about the privilege. Think about the status of this.
I know it doesn’t feel like it. Let me tell you: It did not feel like it to the people whom Peter was writing to.
They were getting kicked around for being Christians. And Peter said that more of that was on the way.
And he doesn’t say to fight back. To stand on your rights.
But he does say to hold up your head high. You are a part of a royal priesthood.
You may be a foreigner with very little status here. But in your homeland? You are royalty! 
There’s more. Next phrase, “But you are...a holy nation.”
That’s the word “ethnos” in the Greek. From which we get ethnic groups. Nationalities. Cultural collections of people.
It’s the same word in the Great Commission that we’re supposed to reach with the gospel and make disciples of all “ethnay” for Jesus Christ.
Well, when you become a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are placed in a new “ethnay” a holy one. 
There he goes again. Peter wants us to be holy in all that we do. Be holy as the Lord is holy. Why? Because we are holy.
In fact we are (v.9) “a people belonging to God.”
That’s it right there. We are His special possession.
We belong to God.
That’s who we are.
Those whose we are.
Even more fundamental than knowing who you are is to know whose you are.
And we became that ay because of God’s mercy. Look at verse 10.
“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Does that sound familiar?
Peter is quoting the Old Testament again. This time it’s the prophecy of Hosea (chapter 2).
Hosea told wayward Israel that they were no longer considered God’s people because of their spiritual adultery in idolatry.
But he prophesied of a day when God’s mercy would rest on them and bring them back.
And the New Testament tells us that that prophecy was fully fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
And not just for ethnic Israel, but for Jew and Gentile together in the Church!
For us.
Something wonderful has happened to us.
We used to be “not a people.” We used to be not have mercy.
But now we are God’s own people!
Because of Jesus Christ, we have received mercy.
Isn’t that wonderful?!
We are God’s own people.
Turn to the person next to you and say, "We are God's own people!"
What do you do with that?
Well, Peter tells us that, too. He says there’s a reason, a purpose to our being God’s own special possession. Look again at verse 9.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Application? 
Declare the praises of Jesus Christ.
Praise Jesus for saving you. Calling you out of darkness and into HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT. Doesn’t that just sound beautiful??!
Declare the praises of Jesus Christ.
Not just here. 
But out there.
And don’t mean under the tent or in the parking lot.
I mean out there in the big bad world.
Peter says that we have been included in God’s own people so that we will declare the praises of Jesus Christ for bringing us out of darkness and into His wonderful light.
Are we going to do that?
I feel like I’ve agreed with everything I’ve heard and said today, but then at the very end, I’m not sure I’m really willing to do that.
I mean, I’m doing it up here.  But out there?
Who could you declare the praises of Jesus to this afternoon?
Who could you declare how great Jesus is for calling you out of darkness and into His wonderful light tomorrow or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday?
Have you been shown mercy?
Are you a living stone?
Have you gone from darkness to light?
Tell somebody. 
Declare it to somebody, in fact.
Get on social media this afternoon and declare how great Jesus is for saving you.Get on the phone.Tell somebody over the neighboring fence.Tell somebody at the water cooler.Tell somebody at their locker.Tell somebody on the street.
Something wonderful has happened to us. 
And it’s all because of Jesus. 
Offer spiritual sacrifices through Jesus and declare the praises of Jesus.

***
Previous Messages in This Series

01. "Elect Exiles" 1 Peter 1:1-2
02. "A Living Hope" 1 Peter 1:3-7
03. "Angels Long To Look Into These Things" 1 Peter 1:8-12
04. "Be Holy In All You Do" 1 Peter 1:13-16
05. "Live Your Lives As Strangers Here In Reverent Fear" 1 Peter 1:17-2106. "Love Each Other Deeply, From the Heart" 1 Peter 1:22-2:3

I passed my ordination council! (20 years ago)

Exactly 20 years ago this very weekend, I sat for my ordination examination council by pastors and leaders from across the Allegheny District and members of Lanse Evangelical Free Church. And I passed! 

Two decades later, I am grateful for the gospel-centered doctrinal faithfulness of the Evangelical Free Church of America and am privileged to help lead the effort to provide credentials for those in vocational ministry in our association. I love the accountability and interdependence that our EFCA credentials provide.

If you are in the EFCA and haven't jumped into it yet, I commend our EFCA credentialing process to you.

If you are in our Allegheny District, check out the 4 step guide we have created to lead you through the process.

“Love One Another Deeply, From the Heart” [Matt's Messages]

“Love One Another Deeply, From the Heart”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchOctober 10, 2021 :: 1 Peter 1:22-2:3
“Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
Those are the words of the Apostle Peter in chapter 1, verse 22.And they are the title of our message for today.And they are God’s Word to us today.
This is what He wants us to hear and to obey:
“Lanse Free Church, love one another deeply from the heart.”
Let those words roll around a little inside of you:
“Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
The first thing I noticed is that it’s a command.
This isn’t something that we do naturally. It’s something that we have to be told to do.
And, at least on some level, we can choose to do this. It’s something that we either obey or disobey, we either obey or do not obey.
“Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
It also doesn’t sound, at first, counter-cultural. These words don’t sound as strange as last week’s command from verse 17, “Live your lives as [foreigners] here in reverent fear.”
That sounds strange in the ears of our culture, as did the big command right before that one back in verse 15, “Be holy in all you do.”
Those two sound much more counter-cultural, but this one doesn’t, “Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
Of course, it is counter-cultural, isn’t it? If you actually do it. Our culture is not known for actually loving each other, deeply from the heart.
Sadly, so often, professing Christians are not known for it either...
“Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
This is clearly something that can be done poorly.
The opposite of “deeply” would be shallowly, right?
The Greek word translated “deeply” in verse 22 is also translated in other English Versions as “earnestly,” “fervently,” “constantly.”
Peter obviously wants real active love here, and not fake love.
He wants his readers to love one another from their hearts. Not just on the outside. Not just a superficial “love.” Not just a theoretical “love.” Not just a “love” when it’s convenient. But “deeply, from the” real you inside of you, from the deepest part of you. From the heart.
All of a sudden, what sounds so nice, you realize is not so easy after all.
Especially when you think about whom you are called to love.
Whom does Peter tell his readers to love deeply, from the heart?
“One another.”
Peter is commanding the elect exiles, the chosen foreigners scattered throughout Asia Minor to love one another. 
Christians loving each other deeply from the heart.
I want you to take a second and look around you for a minute at the other people around you.
If you are inside, the people on the pew beside you and in front of you and look behind you.
And the same for you folks under the tent. Look all the way around you.
Look across the room. Look across the tent.
If you are in the parking lot, look at the people in the cars and trucks around you that you can see. Or think about the people that you saw walk into the building this morning. Or came out to greet you and bring you a worship bulletin.
Make this very personal today.
These are some of the people that Peter is telling you and me to love deeply, earnestly, fervently, constantly from your heart.
How’re you doing at that?

Foreigners need one another.
Foreigners, exiles, need one another, don’t they?
If you are an exile, living in a land which is not your homeland, and you find other exiles, other foreigners, like you living in that land, you should latch onto each other shouldn’t you? Especially if you speak the same language!
You could help one another to navigate living in that foreign land.
Foreigners need one another.
And, remember, Peter says that you and I are foreigners here.
And so we need to hang together, and more than that, to love one another deeply from the heart.
What does that look like?
Well, it’s going to look different in different situations.
You’re going to love some of the people in this room in some ways and some in other ways depending on a lot of circumstances.
But in none of the circumstances are we called to un-love or to hate or to be indifferent to one another.
“Love one another deeply, from the heart.”
What does that look like?
Well, the rest of the New Testament fills out the command to love one another with a whole bunch of other things that we are supposed to do to and for one another.
There’s at least 50. Let me give you just a few:
At the end of this letter, Peter is going to say, “Greet one another” (1 Peter 5:14).
That’s a way of loving one another. Just simply greeting one another on Sundays or whenever you see other Christians.
Did you greet some people this morning? Some of you are introverts who get depleted by greeting others. I understand. I commend you for expending yourself in that way, deeply from your heart. You might only get one genuine greeting in on a Sunday, but it might be the one person who really needs that. And you gave it to them.
By the way, if you are worshiping from your vehicles on Sunday mornings, what can you do out there to greet other Christians in this kind of Christian love?
You might have to get creative. COVID has caused us all to have to get creative. But  we all have to find our way to obedience to this command, “Love one another deeply, from the heart.” Maybe you can jump out of your car and greet folks at 6 foot distance before and after church.
Here’s another one: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (that’s Romans 12:10).
Whom have you honored recently? What fellow Christian have you given honor to in recent days? Is there someone sitting near you that you can praise God for and tell somebody else how much you appreciate them? 
Here’s another one: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (Romans 15:7). Welcome them. Take them as they are. Receive them. 
Even if they are different from you! Especially, if they’re different from you. Christians are not all the same. The Christians in this room [just look at them!] are very different from one another. But we all have Christ in common so we accept one another.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Ephesians 4:32). This is the way the we’re supposed to speak to one another. To treat one another as fellow Christians. Yes, we’re supposed to do that to nonChristians, too. But just start with the church. Are you being kind and compassionate and loving people deeply from the heart?
Don’t ask if others have been kind and compassionate to you. Ask if you have been kind and compassionate to the other Christians in your life?
Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Putting up with each other. Being longsuffering.
“Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
“Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24).
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19). Don’t leave that up to the worship leaders up front.       
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
This is what it means to “love one another deeply, from the heart.”
One more from 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 9. “Offer hospitality to one another.” Have each other in your homes. Get each other on the phone. Jump on Zoom together. Get on Facetime. Eat together. Hospitality. We’ll talk about that more when we get to chapter 4.
Do you see how active this is?
This isn’t just a feeling. 
It’s not just “have warm fuzzies for other Christians.”
Our Lord Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all [people] will know that you are my [followers]” (John 13:34-35).
And Peter is just underlining that and putting it in all caps and 40 point font.
“Love one another deeply [earnestly, fervently, constantly], from the heart.”
Of course, that’s not all that Peter says here. It’s just the central thrust, the main command. 
He also tells us WHY and HOW to love one another like this.
Let’s start with why, and let’s read the whole verse and verse 23. 1 Peter 1:22-23.
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
Peter says that we should love one another deeply from the heart because:
#1. WE WERE BORN AGAIN FOR THIS.
Did you ever think about why you were born again?
Why God gave you new birth by His Holy Spirit?
I mean, there’s a lot of reasons. Yes, it was for our forgiveness.
As verse 22 says, “You have purified yourselves by obeying the truth.” I think that’s talking about the truth of the gospel and their conversions to being true believers.
They have put their trust in the Lord Jesus and His gospel for their salvation and have been purified. Remember verse 2, we have been “been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying (purifying) work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood...”
But verse 22 says that we have been purified like this SO THAT we “have sincere love for [our] brothers.” The Greek word for that is “Philadelphian.” Brotherly love. The real thing. Sincere love.
Think about this: You were born again to love other Christians.
You were born again to love the brethren.
You were born again, not just for yourself, but for rest of the Church.
And of course, it takes that kind of new birth to actually do this kind of loving.
It’s not natural. It’s supernatural.
That’s the point of verse 23.
“[L]ove one another deeply, from the heart. [WHY?] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
Peter loves that word “imperishable.” It’s in verse 4, “never perish” about our inheritance. He’s going to use it again in chapter 3.
Here he says that we have been born again from an imperishable seed.
I think that means a supernatural undying seed. 
Perishable seed is like human seed. When we are naturally born of human seed, we live and then we die.
So our natural life has a natural end. It’s very temporary and transitory and limited.
And if that’s all we have, our love is going to be very temporary and transitory and limited.
That’s all the kind of love that the world can muster up.
But Christians have not just been born; we have been born again. Born anew.
And born to live and then live some more and then live some more and then live some more. And even if we die, to live some more and then some more and then some more and then some more!
Because this seed is imperishable. It’s the seed of the Word of God.
And that’s living and enduring.
And to prove that, Peter reaches back into his beloved Old Testament and quotes Isaiah chapter 40. V.24.
“For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you.”
It’s Autumn right now which is my favorite season. I like all 3 of the good seasons, Spring, Summer, and Fall. But Fall has always been my favorite.
The leaves the change. It’s so beautiful. The harvest comes in. There’s a crispness in the air. Football season. I was the drum major for the marching band in high school. Loved to get out there on the field and perform. And Autumn was also the time you get to go back to school! Which has always been a favorite thing for me. New books and teachers to tell you which books are the best ones to read. Woohoo!
But as the Fall comes, then comes that other season, the season of death. We won’t name it here today.
But it’s the time when we are reminded of death and how transitory and temporary and weak we are. We are like grass and all of OUR glory is like the flowers of the field which withers and falls.
But the Word of God stands forever!
And that’s the word that has been preached to you and put inside of you as a seed to give you a new birth not just into a living hope but a sincere love for other Christians!
You have been born again to love this way and given an undying power to do it!
You have an undying power to love other Christians!
If you are a genuine Christian.
You have an undying power to love other Christians. Inside of you.
So you can love them deeply, from the heart. We were born again for this!
That’s WHY and bit of HOW. Here’s some more how. Look at chapter 2, verse 1.
“Therefore [because of this living and enduring powerful word implanted in you], rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”
This is the manner in which we are to love deeply:
#2. WE RID OURSELVES OF UN-LOVE.
Some translations say, “Lay aside” or “Throw off” or “Be done with” these things.
I like the NIV’s “rid yourselves.”’
We have a phrase around here in Western Pennsylvania that I didn’t grow up with.
Do you say, “Rid up” or “Rid out?”
Like “I’m going to rid up the garage this weekend.”
Which has the idea of organizing, but also getting rid of things that don’t belong in there, right?
These things do not belong in the Church or in an individual Christian:
“Malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”
Malice is harboring hate or spite or venom in your heart towards another Christian.
Deceit is lies.
Hypocrisy is being fake.
Envy is coveting what someone else has.
Slander is spreading falsehoods or gossip, talking against your fellow Christian in a damaging way.
These are all un-love. And they have to go.
And we all agree with that, right?
Until the Spirit puts His finger on us and says, “That’s you right now. And it’s gotta go.”
Ask Him to help you rid up your heart of these un-loving attitudes and actions.
And then one more word about HOW to do this loving deeply. You do it by drinking down the pure spiritual milk of the Word.
#3. WE GREEDILY CONSUME THE WORD OF GOD. V.2
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Peter loves his Old Testament. That’s quote a from Psalm 34 that we studied together back in April.
We have tasted the Lord is good.
So now we seek even more.
Peter says that we ought to be like babies!
I think that’s great. Be like babies.
If somebody asks you what you learned in the sermon today, you can say, “The Bible says that we ought to act like babies!”
In one way, at least.
We have a lot of babies in this church right now. I count at least 6 about one year or less.
Do any of those little ones like to eat?Do they let you know when they’re hungry?Does it seem like they’re hungry a lot?
Especially, when they’re newborns, right? They eat all of the time.
Their little tummies are so hungry!
Peter says, “Be like a baby.”
You’ve tasted how good the Lord is?
Start yelling for more.
“More, please!”
You can find it in here. “More, please. “Please, more of this good, pure stuff.”
Are you wondering where you will get the wherewithal, the sustenance, to love some of these people?
You know, some of these people are not easy to love.
I know that I can be hard to love at times.
Christians can be hard to love.
So we greedily consume more and more and more and more of the word of God.
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
Are you growing up in your salvation?
You can tell if you are loving your brothers and sisters deeply, from you heart.

***
Previous Messages in This Series

01. "Elect Exiles" 1 Peter 1:1-2
02. "A Living Hope" 1 Peter 1:3-7
03. "Angels Long To Look Into These Things" 1 Peter 1:8-12
04. "Be Holy In All You Do" 1 Peter 1:13-16
05. "Live Your Lives As Strangers Here In Reverent Fear" 1 Peter 1:17-21

"Live Your Lives As Strangers Here In Reverent Fear" [Matt's Messages]

“Live Your Lives as Strangers Here in Reverent Fear”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchOctober 3, 2021 :: 1 Peter 1:17-21 Is it good to live in fear?
Well, the answer must be, “It depends.”
My initial instinct, I don’t know about you, is to say that it is bad to live in fear.
Fear can be crippling. It can be paralyzing. It can make you cringe and make bad decisions.
But there apparently is also a healthy kind of fear that is good and right and even freeing and can lead to healthy, holy, and good decisions.
It must be so because we read these words (our message title for today) in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 17, “Live Your Lives as Strangers Here in Reverent Fear.”
Take out all the modifying words in the middle, and that clause boils down to “live in fear.”
That’s what Peter wants us to do. “Live in fear.”
Which flows right out of the call of what we studied last time, “Be holy in all you do.” In some way, it is good and right and healthy and holy to live your life in fear.
Now, the NIV has “in reverent” fear which is helpful because it points to who is being feared here in verse 17. It is God the Father. This is a holy kind of fear of a holy God.
But there is no actual Greek word for “reverent” in the Greek of verse 17. “It’s just "phobos. “Fear.” That “reverent” is just added in there in the English to clarify what kind fear it really is.
It is not a slavish kind of fear. Not a sinful kind of fear. Not a cringing kind of fear.
But it is a trembling kind of fear. A worshipful kind of fear. A trembling in wonder and worship and reverence and awe. A reverent fever.
But a fear nonetheless.
What the Bible calls in other places “the fear of the Lord.”
So living in fear can obviously be a very good thing.       

A proper fear of fearful things will help you to make wise choices.
For example, my son Andrew loves to work with very hot metal and very heavy hammers.
Do you think it would help or hurt for Drew have no fear whatsoever of hot metal or heavy hammers?
Should he not be careful around them? 
Should Drew handle those glowing sticks of steel in any way that he gets into his head?
Just however he feels at any moment? Grab whatever, wherever, swing it however?
Or should Drew have a proper fear of hot metal and heavy hammers?
I think it’s obvious. 
But so often we do not live with a proper fear of something so much more fearful, so often we do not live with a proper fear of God!
The opposite of this kind of reverent fear is irreverence, flippancy, or carelessness or thoughtlessness towards God.
It is going through life with no regard for God. No thought of God as you live your daily life. 
Or just a perfunctory one. We may acknowledge God with our lips. We may even open our day with prayer, but we do not live as if He is actually real and that we will have to one day actually give to Him an account.
Now, right here right now is the easy moment to start thinking about other people.
Other people and their failings in the fear of the Lord. “Those people.”
It’s easy to see this in other people’s lives. Those foolish people not thinking about God! Just look at them. Shaking our heads here.
But don’t start there. Ask yourself today how you yourself are doing at living your life as a stranger here in reverent fear.
Those words “as strangers here” are very important, too, in verse 17.
The ESV has “in the time of your exile.”The KJV has, “the time of your sojourning.”
The 2011 NIV has “foreigners” instead of “strangers.” That’s really helpful. “Live out your time as foreigners here.”
It’s the same root word in Greek as in our current memory verse from chapter 2, verse 11. “Dear friends, I urge you as FOREIGNERS and EXILES, to abstain from sinful desires...”
Remember from chapter 1, verse 1, that Peter wants us to think of our ourselves as VERY DISPLACED? As not at home. Not living in our true homeland. As resident aliens.
Do you think of yourself as a foreigner in this world?
As somebody who is supposed to live differently?
Have you ever felt out of place somewhere?
Like you don’t really fit in there?
We say, “Like a fish out of water.”
Well, Peter’s first readers were apparently displaced foreigners themselves in some way, perhaps as literal exiles from either Israel or Rome. 
And Peter builds on their experience as foreigners to say, “Lean into that. That’s a great way to think of yourself here in this world. Not just in this country but in this broken world itself.”
We’re strangers; we’re foreigners.
Now, if you don’t fit in, if you are a foreigner, then you could be tempted to live in fear of your neighbors. Right?
I mean if the people around you are saying, “You’re not from around here, are you?” then you might be tempted to fear them and try to live your life to please them, right?
And to fit in. And just do what everybody around you is doing.
But Peter says, “Don’t give in to that temptation. Lean into your identity as a foreigner and fear God the Father instead.”
In other words, be different because God is watching.
Be different because your Father God is watching.
Be different from those around you (be a stranger) because you belong to a holy God.
“Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”
How are you doing at that?
If you were to spend some time today evaluating your life against these words from the apostle Peter, how would you measure up?
Again, don’t think first about other people. Think about yourself here. Don’t look at the guy next to you. Look at yourself.
And this is about every area of your life.
For example, worship at church. Do you worship here in reverent fear?
Or are you flippant about it? Do you just stroll in and half-heartedly sing? Or not sing at all? Or think about something else when it’s time to sing? 
Or not prioritize gathered worship at all? Just doing it when it seems convenient. When it’s fun. Only when you feel like it.
Or do you fear God?
Or at work. Do you live your life as a foreigner at work in reverent fear?
Do you just go to work and do your job like everybody else?
Or do you worship at work? Do you do your job as unto the Lord in the fear of the Lord?
Do you seem different from your co-workers?
Are you something of a foreigner there?
Christians should be the best employees but also seem a little weird. A little strange. A little foreign.
Like they’re not there primarily for the paycheck.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
“Your work is characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. That’s weird! That’s foreign around here.”
How about your talk? How about the way you communicate on social media or in private conversation?
Do you post and text and message “as a foreigner here in reverent fear?” Or just like everybody else on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram?
Do you know that God reads every one of your posts?
I saw a post somewhere recently that said to remember that “The Lord follows you on social media.” And He reads every one of your DM’s, private messages, texts.
Do you sound like everybody else in your social media feed?
Or do you sound like “a stranger?”
Do you sound like a foreigner who is living here in reverent fear?
What are you doing with your sexuality?
Are you living just like the rest of the world with your private thoughts and your private parts?
Or are you living like a foreigner to this world in reverent fear?
Pursuing a holy sexuality. Private thoughts and private parts directed in the ways that God designed at creation.
It’s easy to point the finger at others and what they are doing with their sexuality.
How are you doing with yours? Where do you need to repent and to change?
“Live your lives as [foreigners] here in reverent fear.”
Don’t just bounce around thoughtlessly in conformity with the people around you and with no regard to the holiness of God in every area of your life.
Now, Peter doesn’t just tell us to do this. He also gives us very good reasons for  doing this which also reveal the power available to live this way.
I’m going to summarize it under two headings, and here’s number one.
Live your lives as foreigners here in reverent fear:
#1. BECAUSE OF YOUR IMPARTIAL FATHER.
We haven’t actually read yet from the beginning of verse 17; let’s do that now.
“Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”
The most important word there in the first clause has to be the word “Father.”
That word controls the whole idea of fear in this verse.
That word “Father” shows that we are not supposed to be scared of God. No cringing.
If you are a little child and you have a good father, you’re not scared of him.
But you do fear him.
You want to please him. You don’t want to cross him. You don’t want to get out of fellowship with him. You don’t want his frown. You want his smile.
And you know that you’re going to have to answer to him.
If you have a good father, you’re going to have to give an account.
When you were a kid, did you ever have to do a painful debriefing with your parents about something you’d done? Kids, have you had to do that recently?
Peter reminds his readers that they too will have to give account to God the Father for all of their deeds. And so will we.
Now, notice, He’s still their Father. This is not whether or not they are going to be saved.
We are not saved based on our works. We are saved based on what we’re going to see in the very next verse. What we’ve been singing about all morning and what we’re going to celebrate at Lord’s Table together today.
We are saved by grace, but our works will be judged.
We will have to give an account for all of our choices in this life.
To our Father.
And He doesn’t play around. Verse 17 says we call, we pray to a Father who judges each of our works impartially. He doesn’t wink at sin. He doesn’t play favorites.
He doesn’t say, “Oh don’t worry about that. No biggie. Who cares? Whatever.”
This Father doesn’t just shrug. He wants us to be holy in all that we do.
He wants us to live as foreigners, differently, in reverent fear of Him.
So keep that in mind as you go about your life this week.
As you spend your money. Remember, you’re going to be audited.
Maybe not by the IRS, but by your heavenly Father.
You’re going to have to go over your accounts and talk about each purchase.
You’re going to have to explain to your Father what you were doing there.
Same thing with your entertainment choices.
Same thing with your relationships. Your friendships. Your enemy-ships. Your social media. Your sexuality. Your votes in the voting booth. Your ethical choices. Your medical choices. Your work. Your play. Your rest. Your care for creation. Your environmental choices.
You’re going to have to go over all of that with Him.
So think about that as you go through your week.
Live your life as a foreigner here in reverent fear.
Not to earn God’s love! You’ve got that. He’s your Father.
But because of God’s love. He’s your Father! You call on Him. Right?
You pray, right? That same God that you ask to work powerfully in your life is asking you to live as a stranger in this world and in reverent fear of Him.
Holy love casts out unholy fear, yes.
But we know that holy love also creates holy fear in us.
And we know something more.
We know that we have been forgiven and that we will be forgiven and have been freed and wil be freed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 18.
“[Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.] For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”
#2. BECAUSE OF YOUR PRECIOUS SAVIOR.
Live as a foreigners here in reverent fear because of your impartial Father and because your precious Savior.
Do you see the logic there in those verses?
We don’t live healthily fear-filled lives to earn God’s forgiveness or to be set free. It doesn’t work that way.
We live healthily fear-filled lives because we have been forgiven. Because we have been set free!
This holy fear comes from being wholly forgiven.This holy fear comes from being wholly free.
I love how Peter highlights the precious blood of Christ by contrasting it with silver or gold. Look again at verse 18.
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold [We don’t think of silver and gold which are elements[!] as perishable things, but from God’s standpoint they are. Money passes away. It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold... ] that you were redeemed [bought back, freedom purchased] from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers [whether pagan forefathers with empty idols or Jewish forefathers with an empty devotion lawkeeping. Those are worthless. That’s how the rest of the world lives, and it’s futile. Those won’t save you!], but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” There is nothing more precious than the blood of Jesus Christ. Like the sacrificial Lamb of the Old Testament sacrificial system. His blood is more than enough to pay for every sin that you have ever committed and ever will.
And this blood sets us free. It redeems us. We are not just foreigners. We are freed slaves. Freed from an empty way of life so that we can live life to the fullest in reverent fear.
If you have been saved, then you are now free to fear.
Free to fear the Father!
Free of the fear of sin and death and judgment.
Free of the fear of Satan and of Hell.
But you are also now free to walk in the fear of the Lord. Because of the precious blood of the Lamb.
And this is Plan A, not Plan B or Plan Z.
It was not hastily assembled at the last second. V.20
“He [Christ] was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him [through Christ] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
Because of your precious Savior.
Who was set to come before the world was created and then showed up at just at the right time. Notice that we are living in the last times! We have been ever since Jesus came the first time, and now we’re just waiting for His return.
Because of your precious Savior you believe in God who raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him, so your faith and your hope are in God.
There he goes again about HOPE, right?
The certainty in the heart of something certain in the future.
It’s not here yet, but it is just as sure as if it was.
Because Jesus has come back from the dead!
And so we are forgiven and freed by what He did for us on the Cross.
Freed from an empty way of life to live a life full of holy trembling fear.
Freed from how our forefathers lived to now live as foreigners here in reverent fear.
So, yes, it is good to live in fear because of our impartial Father and because of our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
May He get all of the glory.

***
Previous Messages in This Series

01. "Elect Exiles" 1 Peter 1:1-2
02. "A Living Hope" 1 Peter 1:3-7
03. "Angels Long To Look Into These Things" 1 Peter 1:8-12
04. "Be Holy In All You Do" 1 Peter 1:13-16

“Be Holy In All You Do” [Matt's Messages]

“Be Holy In All You Do”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchSeptember 19, 2021 :: 1 Peter 1:13-16
“Be holy in all you do.”
That’s in 1 Peter 1:15, and it is also the title of this message.
And it is also God’s direct Word to Lanse Free Church today: “Be holy in all you do.”
How does that command hit you today? How does it rest on you?
What do you think and feel and wonder as you read it and hear it today?  
“Be holy in all you do.”
There is a part of me that thrills when I hear those words. They are thrilling.
I hear an invitation to live a different kind of life.
That’s what “holy” means, right? To be “holy” means to be different. It means to be set apart. Put in a different category. To be special. To be distinct. To be different.
We often equate “holy” with “pure,” and that’s right because what could be more different than the world than being pure?
Sometimes when I read these words, I feel an exciting invitation to live a different kind of life. A life like God’s own life.
That’s where Peter gets this. He says (v.15), “[J]ust as he who called you is holy [God], so be holy in all you do; for is written [Leviticus 19:2] ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
That’s an invitation to live like God does! 
“Be holy in all you do.”
That’s very inspiring and rightfully so.
But, most of the time, that’s not the first thing that I think or feel when I hear those words.
Most of the time, I feel overwhelmed. I feel defeated. 
Most of the time, my first thought is, “Sounds nice, but I’ll never get there.”
Especially with that word “all” in there. “Be holy in ALL you do.”
I can often feel defeated in holiness before I even start trying.
Can you relate to that?
I hope not, but I expect you probably can.
That’s why Peter does not begin his letter in verse 15.
We’re starting today’s message with those words, but we are not hearing them until the fourth message in this series.
For the first 12 verses of his letter (what we’ve read so far), Peter gives no commands whatsoever. Zero. That very long sentence in Greek? Verses 3 through 12? Last 2 sermons? No commands.
Peter began his letter–not with commands but–with reminders. He began by reminding these precious believers WHO they are and WHOSE they are in some of the most beautiful and powerful words ever recorded on paper.
I’m tempted to read verses 1 through 12 to you again.
About how we are elect exiles. So very loved even though we’re so very displaced. 
And about how we are chosen and given new birth into a living hope, a perfect and safe inheritance that is being kept perfectly safe for us in heaven and for which we are being kept perfectly safe here while we wait for the revelation of Jesus Christ.
About a living hope that is worth rejoicing in even through fiery trials because of Jesus Christ whom we have not yet seen and yet still love and trust and rejoice in and know in ways that the prophets didn’t and the angels never will.
That’s how Peter starts his letter!
So that the holy flows out of the hope.
Do you see that? We’re going to drill down into that idea today.
The holiness flows out of the hopefulness.
And that gives me hope for the holiness!
“Be holy in all you do.”

The very first word in verse 13 is “therefore.”
And whenever you see a “therefore” in Scripture, you know you should always try to figure out, what?  What it’s there for.
This is a hinge moment in the letter. Peter has not given us any commands so far. 
But now he’s going to fire them out at us left and right.
There are like 7 in our 4 verses for today!
And there are a bunch more to come. That’s what it’s there for. Peter has already reached the “so what” of the truth he’s been proclaiming so far. And the “so what” is really really big.
I want to summarize the application today under two main headings:
100% HOPE and 100% HOLY.
#1. 100% HOPE. 
Listen now to 1 Peter 1, verse 13.
“Therefore [because of everything you’ve read in the first 12 verses of this letter, therefore], prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
100% Hope.
The main command in verse 13 is to “set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you...”
Put all of your hope, 100%, on that grace that is coming your way.
Put all of your eggs in that basket.Put all of your chips on that number.Put all of your investment funds in that one single stock.
Do not diversify your hope.
Rest all of your hope, 100%, on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed (same exact words in the Greek, by the way as in verse 7, “at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” when Jesus Christ comes back).
What does that mean, “set your hope”?
Do you remember what we said “hope” is in this context? Biblical hope?
It’s not just wishful thinking.
It’s not “Oh, I hope Heather Joy bakes me a Texas Sheet Cake.”
By way, I still have not gotten a Texas Sheet Cake this month.
You know why? Because Heather Joy never promised me one!
It’s just been wishful thinking on my part. The other kind of hope.
But if Heather Joy was to promise me a Texas Sheet Cake, then based upon who I know her to be, I could hope for it in this way.
Because this kind of hope is a confidence in the heart of something certain in the future. A confidence in the heart of something certain still in the future.
The Apostle Peter says that we should put 100% of our hearts’ confidence in the grace that is going to be given to us when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Now, I want you to focus on that word “grace” in verse 13.
Because that’s what we’re supposed to put our hope in. Hope fully in the grace.
What is grace? Grace is unmerited blessing. Undeserved goodness.
Grace is getting something you do not deserve.
Grace is not getting something bad that you do deserve and it’s also getting all the good that you do not deserve.
And that’s very encouraging!
Because the command to be holy in verse 15 comes after the reminder that we are going to be graced beyond belief when Jesus Christ returns. The holy flows from the hope.
We are not supposed to be holy so that we somehow earn God’s blessings.
No! It doesn’t work that way. We are going to get God’s blessings because God is amazing gracious and has promised it to us.
We are going to get God’s blessings because Jesus Christ died for us and came back to life for us and is coming back soon to give us grace upon grace.
This does not say to put your hope in you or your own efforts.
Or on anything else!
It says “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 100%.
Now, how do you do that?
Well, it’s important to know what is going to be given to you, isn’t it?
And that’s what Peter has been talking about, especially in verses 3 through 5, right? That inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. That’s the grace!
Wrap your mind around that inheritance and put your hope in it 100%.
And you will grow in holiness!
We have so much good coming TO us soon that we can BE good right now.
Peter gives two other commands in verse 13 that shed some light on how to do this (because they are participles that modify the main verb). Verse 13 again.
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled...”
Now, literally, the Greek for “prepare your minds for action” could be more woodenly translated “gird up the loins of your mind.” Which sounds more than a little weird.
You see, the Jews in Peter’s day wore long flowing robes that reached their ankles. And any of you ladies who have ever tried to run in a dress can tell that kind of clothing could be dangerous in a battle. So when it was time to fight, they would hitch up their outer clothes and tuck it into their belts so that they could run. That’s what “to gird up your loins means.” And this says, to gird up the loins of your mind.
Get your mind ready to fight. Prepare your mind for action.
Like when your favorite superheroes say, “Suit up!” They are getting ready to fight.
We need to get our game face on and get ready to fight for hope and for holiness.
How do you do that? You think about truth! You stock up your mind with the truth of the grace that’s on the way so that you can fight the right-now battles of hope.
You can’t hope with your heart unless you think with your head about the promises God has given you in Christ. Fill your mind with the promises of vv.3-12 and the command to hope in v.13 will not be so hard.
Then, “be self-controlled.” The Greek word here has an overtone of sobriety. The CSB and the ESV both have “be sober-minded.”
It means to be sensible. To be reality based. To be vigilant because you expect there to be a fight in your life. Notice, again, that Peter is completely realistic.
Even though he has just described the most wonderful and bright future ever imagined for every true believer in Jesus Christ, he is completely sober about the bleak situation in the present.
These people are hurting, and that is normal.
And that is normal for you and. Christians hurt in the here now.
We are broken and we live in a broken world because we are not home yet to our unbroken homeland.
We need to realistic. We need to be sober-minded. We need to wrap our minds around that and focus beyond the pain of now to the joy of forever.
“Set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
100%.
How are you doing at that?
I can guess that you are not running yet at 100%. Nobody does.
But what are you hoping in these days?
The stability of your job?The enjoyment of your “family-togetherness?”The pleasure of professional or collegiate sports?The comfort of your entertainment system?The approach of hunting season?The brilliance of your intellect to plan out your life?The pile of money in your bank account?The government?
What are you hoping in?
“Set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
It is not here yet, but it is more than enough to empower you to do whatever you need to do to be holy right now.
Because holiness comes from hope!
And that’s where Peter goes next:
#2. 100% HOLY.  
V.14. “As obedient children [who obey this command to hope], do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance [of the gospel]. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 100% Holy.
Again, Peter is very realistic here. Very sober.
Yes, he says that we need to go for 100% holy, but he knows that it won’t come naturally. He knows that we will have to get ready for action and to resist. Look at verse 14 again.
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance...” 
“I know you used to live that way. You used to just give in to those desires. They are natural to you.
You didn’t know about the grace, the undeserved goodness, that you will be getting because of Jesus. So of course you lived that way! Of course you gave in.
You went with the world, the flesh, and the devil.
But now, you don’t have to because of your new Dad.”
Did you see those words “as obedient children”? Remember that you and I have been chosen for adoption and even given a new birth into a new family and a whole new set of desires to follow!
“As obedient children [of our new Father we don’t have to conform...], to the evil desires [we] had when [we] lived in ignorance” back in the day!
We can and must say, “No.” “No” to those desires.
You see how our holiness flows from our hopefulness? We have so much good coming TO us soon because of our Father that we can BE good right now.
If I knew that I had Texas Sheetcake coming later today, I would not eat junk food all afternoon! Because of the good stuff I know is on the way, I could resist the evil desires that wage war against my soul.
And instead of giving in to those evil desires that still linger inside of us, we can be holy. V.15
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 100%
Holy, holy, holy.
Now, at first, that might seem overwhelming and daunting.
He’s holy, holy, holy. How can I be like Him?
But of course, that’s the just the right standard and the right motivation, isn’t it?
If God is holy, holy, holy, what other standard would be appropriate for His children to shoot for?
He is holy, holy, holy, but I plan to be dirty, dirty, dirty?
Or maybe dirty, sorta clean, dirty. Good enough?
Remember, this is an invitation to live like God does. To live a different kind of life.
And isn’t it amazing that Peter just lays it out there like it is actually do-able?!!!
Have you ever studied the life of Peter?
Peter? From the Gospels, and Acts, and Mr. Still Getting It Wrong in Galatians?
That Peter?
But Peter knows about the grace that is on the way, and he knows that this “holy” is the perfect standard and the perfect motivation.
I mean, don’t you want to be like your heavenly Father?
“[J]ust as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 
Just do it.
You won’t do it perfectly, but don’t worry, your salvation does not come from doing it perfectly.
Your salvation comes from Jesus and what He did perfectly.
And you will receive all of that by grace!
So put your hope in that grace and be holy in all you do.
“Be holy in all you do.”
That means all of the time. Not just on Sundays. Not just an act.
“Be holy in all you do.” 
That means a lifestyle of holiness. Some translations say, “Be holy in all your conduct.”
“Be holy in all you do.”
That means there is no sector of your life that should not be saturated with holiness.
Be holy at work.Be holy at play.Be holy at school.Be holy on the roadway.Be holy in your words.Be holy in your relationships.Be holy in your parenting.Be holy in your neighboring.Be holy in your hobbies.Be holy with your money.Be holy in your entertainments.Be holy online.Be holy on social media.Be holy in your habits.
“Be holy in all you do.”
This is an invitation to live differently than the rest of the world.
We’re going to see this again and again as we study 1 Peter.
He wants us to live differently than the unbelieving world around us.
How are you doing at that?
Does your life look different than the lives of the unbelievers around you?
Or are you just like them?
And I don’t just mean that you aren’t a criminal.
I mean, this is more than just following the outside of the 10 Commandments.This is living out the inside of the Sermon on the Mount.This is exhibiting the holy fruit of the Holy Spirit.
“Be holy in all you do.”
Take this to heart. This is God’s direct Word to you today.
Right now, from your heart, I encourage you to ask the Lord to show you areas in your life that are not currently holy as they should be. Ask specifically about your desires, any evil ones, any desires out of control, out of proportion. Ask the Lord to put His holy finger on your unholiness, and then offer that area up to Him in prayer.
Say, “Lord, I want to be holy in all I do. Please forgive me for that thing you’ve put your finger on. I confess it. Cleanse me of all unrighteousness. And help me to change. Because I believe I have so much goodness coming to me soon, I can be good right now. I can live differently. I can live out the family resemblance. I can be holy.
Make me 100%. Get me ready for battle. Help me to be sober about this and how hard it will be, but make me 100% holy.”
What might happen if we begin to actually live like verses 13 through 16?
Setting our hope fully on the grace that is on the way.
And living genuinely authentically different lives than the unbelievers around us.
What might happen?
“Be holy in all you do.”
I think that sounds simply thrilling!

***

Previous Messages in This Series

01. "Elect Exiles" 1 Peter 1:1-2
02. "A Living Hope" 1 Peter 1:3-7
03. "Angles Long To Look Into These Things" 1 Peter 1:8-12

You Are Invited to Celebration Sunday 2021!

Dear Church Family,
I am so pleased and excited to get to invite you to this year’s special Celebration Sunday worship time at Lanse Evangelical Free Church!
On Sunday, September 26th at 10:00am we are going to have another special outdoor worship gathering here out in the field on our church campus, and I’m hoping that everybody can come.
We’re celebrating 129 years of God’s faithfulness to us as a church family with some really special events.
Matt Cox from Miracle Mountain Ranch will be our guest preacher that Sunday, and he’s promised to bring along some four-footed friends to help him with his message. If you’ve never heard Matt Cox do a “Message from the Mount,” you’re in for a treat! I think he’s planning to bring at least a steer, a horse, and a dog. And maybe they’ll get to pose with us in our annual church family photo! I don’t think we’re going to have to use a drone this year. We’ll get to be closer together than we were last year for the picture though we’ll make sure that everybody still feels safe.
Even more special, we are planning to have testimonies and baptisms on Celebration Sunday. It’s been a while since we have done baptisms, and we’re still working out the final logistics, but I’m excited to assist a few people to publicly proclaim their faith in Christ and identify with His death, burial, and resurrection!    Here’s what you need to know to prepare:
Weather-permitting, we’re all going to be out the field like we were last year. We’ll have some chairs set up and also available for you to put where you are comfortable, but you’re also welcome to bring along your own lawnchairs and canopies and even park out in the field for tailgate style worship. We may not have FM transmission, but we will have a strong sound system so that everybody can hear.
If you are able-bodied and not tailgating, please park on other side of the church and walk over. Let’s leave the prime parking spots for those who need the shorter walk or are going to worship from their cars. There will be welcome tables to grab a worship bulletin and to give your offering, and after the photo to enjoy some celebratory sweets and fellowship.
Live music will begin at 9:30am, and the service will begin promptly at 10:00. Pray for nice weather just like last year. Especially for those of us who are going to get wet with the baptisms!
If we are outside, we are not going to have children’s church or nursery because everybody will want to watch Matt Cox and the “critters” in the Message from the Mount. If it’s too wet, we’ll move inside and offer our usual outdoor options. And even then, we’ll have nursery but not children’s church because I expect Matt’s message to be one the little kids won’t want to miss.
This will be last month for having a totally outdoor worship time like we have on the last Sunday of the month all summer so, again, please pray for nice weather.
Regardless of the weather, however, please plan to come and invite your friends. This is a great opportunity to gather together, to all worship in one place at one time, and to praise our God for His great faithfulness to Lanse Free Church for 129 years.
See you at Celebration Sunday on September 26th at 10:00am!
-Pastor Matt

"Angels Long to Look Into These Things" [Matt's Messages]

“Angels Long To Look Into These Things”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchSeptember 12, 2021 :: 1 Peter 1:8-12
If you remember, verses 3 through 12 are one long sentence in the original Greek that Peter wrote to the “elect exiles” scattered throughout Asia Minor.
These very loved and very displaced people received this letter from the pen of the Apostle Peter to give them hope and direction as they experienced fiery trials.
Peter begins with praise because of the living hope, the guaranteed inheritance, that  is perfect and safe and perfectly safe that sustains followers of Jesus Christ no matter what various trials come upon them to test their faith and will result in glory when Jesus Christ returns.

What in the world could make an angel curious?
What would it take to fascinate an angel of God?
That last sentence in verse 12 is just astonishing, isn’t it?
“Even angels long to look into these things.”
The Christian Standard Bible says, they “long to catch a glimpse of these things.”
It interests the angels to no end!
I don’t know about you, but the word “curious” is about one of the last words that I would come up with to describe angels.
Angels are powerful.Angels are mysterious.Angels are flames of fire.Angels are fearsome.Angels are warriors.
Angels are...curious??!
Most of the time, when an angel shows up in the Bible, they have a message from God. They don’t have questions. They have answers!
But in verse 12, Peter pulls back the curtain a little bit more and reveals one more thing about angels. There are some things in the world that just totally fascinate them. There are some things that angels marvel at. Their jaws drop (if they have them), and their eyes bug out as they study these things.
“Even angels long to look into these things.”
Isn’t that astonishing?
It’s even more astonishing when you come to understand that Peter is saying that what they long to look into is something that you and I as New Testament Christians are currently experiencing!
They are on the outside curiously looking in, and you and I are on the inside.
It’s not that they’re not involved. They are involved, and have been from the beginning.
But they are involved from the outside, so to speak. You and I who belong to Jesus are experiencing these things on the inside.
We have a privileged position.
“Even angels long to look into these things.”
So. What are “these things?”
I think it’s everything from verses 3 through 12.
But it can probably be summed up with a beautiful powerful word that appears at the end of verse 9 and then right again at the start of verse 10.
“Salvation.”
V.9, “You are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
And by soul, it doesn’t just mean the immaterial substance of your spirit. It really means your whole self. The soul is the whole self.
You are receiving the salvation of your souls from sin, and death, and Hell.
That’s what the angels are fascinated by.
They are just captivated and delighted and enthralled and totally interested to study out how God is saving you and me!
Have you ever thought about that? 
Now, don’t get me wrong. They are not impressed by you and me.
Gabriel is not like, “Hey, Michael, you’ve got to see this Matt Mitchell guy. He’s really impressive.” 
No. It’s actually the opposite. “Hey, guys, you have seen what the Triune God is doing with that sinner? Did you see what kind of grace the Lord has on display? Do you see how the Master is bringing about the salvation of his soul? Astonishing!”
Even angels long to look into human salvation.
There is very little hint of angelic salvation in the Bible. Jesus did not die for the fallen angels (though His death will renew them and their world). 
But He did die and rise again to give living hope to humans who would put their faith in Him.
And that intrigues the angels to no end!
Verses 10 through 12 tell us that it wasn’t just the angels who were intrigued.
The Old Testament prophets were also curious. Look at verse 10.
“Concerning this salvation [the salvation of your souls], the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”
Now, there are a lot of words there, but the main point is pretty clear.
The Old Testaments prophets–like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Daniel–those guys–were prophesying to Israel then but also of things to still to come. And they were really curious to understand how what they were writing was all going to come about.
I mean think about being Isaiah writing Isaiah 53! You know that the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart to write, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [Isaiah is writing...] Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (vv.3-5).
And you’re Isaiah, and you say to God, “Who is that? Who will that be? And when will that be?” The prophets asked that question over and over again. “When?!”
Peter loves his Old Testament, especially Psalms and Isaiah. And he’s going to quote it again and again as we read his letter.
But he knows that they didn’t know when and how all of their prophecies were going to coalesce and be fulfilled!
They could see, the Spirit was showing them, the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. In shadowy form, they could see the Cross and the Empty Tomb and the Kingdom to come.
But not Who and not When. Verse 12.
“It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”
Did you catch all of the “to you’s” there?
Verse 10, “the grace that was to come to you.”Verse 12, “they were not serving themselves but you”Verse 12, “told you by those who have preached the gospel to you.”
Peter is saying that the elect exiles reading his letter (and by extension you and I today) have an advantage over both the Old Testament prophets and the angels of God!
Think about that!
Have you ever wished that you lived in the Old Testament and could see the miracles of God with your own eyes? The Red Sea Rescue. The Walls of Jericho come tumbling down. Goliath falling to one small smooth stone. The golden temple being erected. The fire falling on the wet sacrifice on Mt. Carmel. The Hebrew children emerging from the fiery furnace without even smelling of smoke!
Well, they wished that they could be in your shoes on this side of the Cross.
When the mystery has been revealed.
It was all leading up to you! To what God was doing with you!
Have you ever wished that you were an angel?
A powerful spiritual messenger of God. Un-fallen. Sinless. Flaming with purity.
Attending God in His throne room.  Un-suffering. (As far as we know.)
I’ll bet these precious followers of Jesus receiving Peter’s first letter envied the angels when they were experiencing persecution in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
But Peter says that the angels longed to look into what was happening to them.
What God was up to in their lives. In their human salvation.
I think that’s truly amazing.
You and I have an advantage over the prophets and the angels.
Because the prophets were predicting the grace that has come to us now and the angels watch it play out from the outside when you and I are in!
How does that make you feel?
Why do you think that Peter tells us all of this?
What is he trying to do to us when we read this?
This isn’t just a set of curious facts that Peter happens to throw in for good measure.
He’s trying to do something in our hearts. What do think it might be?
Remember, these people were suffering. They were displaced physically. And they were displaced spiritually. They were not home. They were not in their homeland. They were exiles. Refugees. Sojourners. Foreigners. And they were feeling it.
And they were being made to feel it. They were experiencing some persecution and other various kinds of suffering.
They hurt.
Their lives hurt.
And I think it would be easy to feel sorry for yourself in that situation, right?
Anybody here struggling right now with feeling sorry for yourself?
Not just feeling sad but feeling envious of anybody who has it better than you or me?
Not just feeling lament and grief but jealousy or angry and self-pitying.  
“O poor me. O poor me.”
I fall into that one all of the time, and I know that objectively I am very blessed.
But a little bit of suffering, and I’m throwing myself a major pity party.
Peter will have none of it. Peter was bent on showing these Christians how good they have it. How loved they are. How safe they are. How known and accepted and chosen and blessed.
At least in these ways, we have it better than Isaiah or Daniel or the angel Gabriel!
“Even angels long to look into these things.”
That YOU are living right here, right now.
So what might be the application of this for us today?
Well, starting in the very next verse, Peter lays out some major points of application. We’ll jump into that next week, Lord-willing, in verse 13.
But for now, I think the application is just to keep doing what you’re already doing as a true follower of Christ. It’s the things in verses 8 and 9.
You might have noticed that we have largely skipped over verses 8 and 9 so far today. Let’s go back up and look more closely at them. V.8
“Though you have not seen him, you love him...”
There’s application point number one.
#1. YOU LOVE HIM.
This verse is talking about Jesus. Verse 7 said that one day soon Jesus Christ will be revealed.
But right now, He is hidden from view.
These Christians have never seen Him. Never laid eyes on Him.
Peter has. But he knows that these folks have not.
And yet they love Him!
How about you?
Raise your hand or honk if you have seen Jesus with your own eyes.
I don’t expect to hear even one honk.
Now. Raise your hand or honk if you love Jesus.
Isn’t that amazing?
You love somebody you’ve never seen?!
“Angels long to look into these things.”
Just keep loving Him.
You know it’s right to.
Jesus is the most amazing Person to ever live. To ever die. To ever live again.
He has shown you amazing love. Love Him back.
Cherish Jesus. Love Him more than anything else in the whole wide world.
It’s okay to love other things, but love Jesus more than anything.
Love Him so much that it could be said that you hate everything else in comparison.
Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts. Love Him.
He loved you especially when in hurt. V.8
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him...”
That’s number two.
#2. YOU BELIEVE IN HIM.
You’re already doing it. Keep doing it. Keep trusting Him.
Peter says that even though you do not see him now, you continue to put your faith in Him. You find Jesus trustworthy.
Does anybody see Jesus right now? With your physical eyes?
No. But do you trust Him?
I know you do.
By the way, you know that you trust Him when you see yourself obeying Him.
Our faith comes out in our works.
Our works do not save us, but they can show us that we are saved.
You trust Him.
You trust Him even when it hurts.
Not only can you not see Him right now, but you can see your troubles.
Keep on trusting Him anyway.
Now, that’s not something that we should do with just anybody, right?
Some people should not be trusted when they are out of sight.
Toddlers and politicians for example.
But you know Jesus. And you love Him.And you trust Him.
You believe in Him even though you do not see Him now.
“Angels long to look into these things.”
That’s God’s work in you!
And one more. V.8 again. “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
#3. YOU REJOICE IN HIM.
You’re already doing it. 
All true Christians do this.
Because of what Jesus has done, because of the sufferings of Christ predicted by the Old Testament prophets long ago, we are receiving the end result of our faith, the biggest thing we’ve been trusting Him for, the salvation of our entire beings.
We ARE receiving it.
Notice how certain that is.
Everything we saw last week about how perfectly safe our salvation is kept in heaven and how we are being kept safe for our salvation “shielded by God’s power.”
We ARE by faith receiving that salvation, and no power in the universe can stop it!
So we cannot help but rejoice!!
We “are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy[!]”
We have no words for it; it so good.
We "are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy[!]"
Of course we are! 
We rejoice in Him.We rejoice in Jesus.Even when it hurts.
That’s what it takes to make an angel curious.
“Angels long to look into these things.”
They say, “Wow! Wow! Wow! Would you look at that? How amazing is the work of our Triune God!
They love Jesus. Even though they have never seen Him!They trust Jesus. Even though they do not see Him now!They rejoice in Jesus even though they are hurting really really bad.
Would you just look at that? How fascinating!
Just catch a glimpse of what the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are doing right here, right now...in them!”
May God get the glory.

***
Previous Messages in This Series
01. "Elect Exiles" 1 Peter 1:1-202. "A Living Hope" 1 Peter 1:3-7

"Turn and Trust - 9/11" [Matt's Messages]

What follows is the unedited manuscript of the message I preached the Sunday after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. At that time the death-toll was estimated to be about 5,000 people. The official number turned out to be 2,977 which is devastating to consider. 
As we mark this day 20 years later, may we continue to remember the awfulness of what happened, to applaud with gratitude the courage and service of so many who ran into danger, and to learn the lessons the Lord wants us to hear and to heed.
AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
"Turn & Trust"September 16, 2001Luke 13:1-9
What do you say after a week like this?  As you know, on Tuesday, terrorists succeeded in leveling the World Trade Center and killing thousands of people.  The Pentagon was attacked by another hijacked airplane and yet another dug a deep crater south and west of here in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our nation has been attacked.  The death toll is higher than Pearl Harbor and the Titanic combined.  The nation has been in crisis-mode all week with planes grounded and financial markets frozen.
This has been the greatest American tragedy in my lifetime, and most of the week I had no idea what I was going to say to you this morning because of my grief for the nation.
What do you say?  In 5 short days, our country has gone through shock, fear, exhaustion, and mourning in quick succession.  It’s been overwhelming.
Christian leaders from around the country have urged that this day be set apart as a “National Day of Mourning and Prayer” and have urged pastors everywhere to give words of comfort and consolation to our congregations.
And that is right.  We need to hear words of comfort–words about the powerful love of God that cannot be separated from us who are in Christ Jesus (Did you hear George W. Bush quote Romans 8 on Friday?).  And we need to hear words of consolation–words about the God who cares about pain and suffering and is powerful enough to do something about it.  A God who is great and a God who is near–just like Pastor Russell told us a few weeks ago.
But there is a word that is conspicuously missing from the national dialogue this week.  I have not heard it on National Public Radio or heard about it being spoken on the television or written in the newspapers.
And that word is “repentance.”  Repentance.
And while I intend to share words of comfort this morning, I believe that God is calling for Christian leaders to call people to repent because of this tragedy.  Don’t just mourn.  Don’t just pray.  Don’t just hold candlelight vigils.  Repent!
Why do I say that?  Because Jesus said it.  Let’s look at Luke chapter 13, verses 1-9.
V.1.  “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.”
Jesus receives some bad news just like we received bad news this week.  People from his homeland had been killed while worshiping.  Imagine some armed thugs breaking in here right now, and slicing some of our throats and then pouring our thick, red blood on the communion table.  That’s how horrible this was.  Pilate’s men had killed some Galileans and mingled their blood with the blood of bulls, rams, goats, and doves on the altar in the temple.
And some people shared this bad news with Jesus.  And Jesus knows what they are thinking.  You see, the prevailing notion of the day was that if someone suffered like this, then they must have been an extraordinary sinner to deserve it.  Remember the story of Job from late January?  Job’s quote-unquote friend Eliphaz said, “Who, being innocent, has ever perished?  Where were the upright ever destroyed?  As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.” (Job 4:7)  One for one.  Sin for suffering.  That was the prevailing notion.
Strangely enough, something almost opposite is the prevailing notion today–and that is that there is almost no sin worthy of perishing.  That those who worked in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and were flying on commercial airliners did in no way deserve their fate on Tuesday.  They were completely innocent and should not have suffered at all.  That is today’s prevailing notion.
And both notions are partly right and mostly wrong.  Jesus saw things far differently than we often do.  And he saw them absolutely accurately.  He is the one human who absolutely accurately saw reality clearly as it really is.
V.2 is Jesus’ stunning answer to the bad news.  And it is shocking to today’s ears.
“Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than the other Galileans because they suffered this way?  I tell you, no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’”
Their suffering was not in proportion to extraordinary sin.  Their suffering was in proportion to ordinary sin.
The wonder in the world is not that people suffer.  The wonder is that people don’t suffer more often because we are all ordinary sinners–and deserve a fate worse than death.  That’s Jesus’ perspective.
He takes this bad news as normal.  And uses it as an opportunity to warn people to repent.  “Unless you repent, you too will perish.”
To perish means to die.  And he means much more than just physically dying, because we all do that (even repentant people), it means spiritually dying, spending eternity in hell–conscious eternal torment.
“Unless you repent, you too will perish.”
Jesus is saying, those Galileans met a dreadful end.  But they were no worse than you.  And you, too, will meet a dreadful end unless you repent.
But someone might say, those Galileans probably did something against Pilate to deserve some action.  We don’t know what, but that wouldn’t be surprising.  So Jesus, goes out of his way to show that this principle of God’s wrath applies to natural disasters, too.  V.4
Jesus says, “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them–do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Now, 18 sounds like a very low number compared with 5000, but here we have a building falling on top of people and killing them.  Would Jesus have mourned their deaths? I believe, yes, He would.  He hated death. Jesus hated the enemy of death. Would Jesus have comforted and consoled the families of the victims left behind in the wake of the tower of Siloam tragedy?  I believe, yes, He would.  He wept with those who wept and cared for people like a gentle shepherd.
But He also cared about their souls.  And He knew that their deepest need was for repentance.  “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
You and I deserve a fate worse than a building falling upon us.  We deserve the torment of Hell because we are ordinary (not extraordinary!) ordinary sinners.
That’s what Jesus says!
On one level, of course, we are shocked by what has happened this week.  We thought we were generally safe and secure and protected by the military might of the United States of America.
But on a reality-level, we should be shocked every day that we don’t die in a worse way!  Because we are sinners.  And God is absolutely holy.
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Jesus is sounding a warning.  A warning to everyone here in this room.  A warning to everyone in our country.  A warning to everyone who hears about this tragedy all over the world.  And, yes, a warning to those who perpetrated this atrocious crime against our nation.
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
When Jesus hears or tells of a tragedy, he reminds the crowd that God is holy, and we are sinful.  God is righteous, and we are unclean.  God is just, and we are rebellious.
God would be and is right to cause us to perish.  And every tragedy is a warning bell going off for us to repent while there is still time.
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Those are not my words.  I didn’t want to say them this morning.  But they are Jesus’ words.  And He would not let me say anything else.
Jesus says, “Do you think that the 5,000 people buried under the World Trade Center were worse sinners than the ones who escaped?  Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Those are hard words.  But I have good news for you this morning:
#1.  There is time for us to repent today!
Starting in v.6, Jesus tells a story, a parable, that further explains his point of view . It is scary, but also full of hope.
After saying, “‘Unless you repent, you too will all perish.  Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, `For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any.  Cut it down!  Why should it use up the soil?’` ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine!  If not, then cut it down.’`”
Notice, that this story comes on the heals of the warning to repent.  The fig tree is you and me.  And God’s justice is looking for fruit on us, “the fruit of faith, the fruit of repentance.”  And He has not found it.  So He plans to cut us down (that is to judge us!).  But there is another part of God’s character–His mercy, His longsuffering, His patience–that stays His hand for another period of time with more gracious care and fertilizing words of promise rained down upon the fruitless fig-tree.
This parable is saying that God is patient–that there is time today for us to repent.
If you are listening to this sermon, if you are alive: breathing, thinking, weighing what I’m saying, then God is being patient with you and giving you a chance right now to repent.  My words are the vinedresser’s care and fertilizer for you. God is calling you now while there is time to repent.
2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness [some of you are wondering why God does not strike Osama Bin Laden dead right now.  2 Peter 3:9 says...] God is patient with you [why doesn’t God strike you dead right now?], not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
For those of us who are unrepentant today, God is saying, “Don’t cut the tree down just yet.  Wait a bit.  I have every right to cut this tree down, but I will give him or her more time for the fruit of repentance.”
The good news this morning is not only that God has sounded a warning that we should repent, but God is also giving us time to repent.
God is not just holy and righteous.  God is merciful and patient.
And the second good news is even greater!
#2.  God is granting life to those who repent!
Jesus said (in both v.3 and v.5), “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  But the opposite is also true, “If you repent, you will have life!”  That’s the opposite of perishing.
John 3:16:  “God so loved the world (that’s despicable people like you and me) that He gave His One and Only Son (Jesus Christ, the One who Himself suffered the wrath of God upon sin,) that whoever [repents] and believes in him shall NOT PERISH but have eternal life.”
John 10:27:  Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. [Unsnatchable! Safe!] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all [greater than the US Government, greater than Osama Bin Laden, greater than the fear of death, greater than all] no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”  (John 10:27-29)  Safe and secure from all alarms!
The greatest news in all the world is that God has provided a substitute to perish in our place so that if we come to Him repentantly we will not suffer the pains of Hell.  And we will be safe!  At home in God!  “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty!” (Psalm 91:1)
Not perishing, but having eternal life.
Life, brothers and sisters! Life!  Abundant life!  The terrorist comes to steal, and kill, and destroy, but Jesus has come so that we might have life! And life abundantly! Life in the fullest sense of term. Life that we can’t begin to imagine the joys of!
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  But if you do repent, you will have life!
I can’t think of a more comforting and consoling phrase to hang onto in a week of death than “eternal life.”  God is granting life to those who repent.
So repent!  Repent!  Repent!
What does that mean?  Let me put it this simply:
To repent means to turn from sin and trust in Him.
I think we can all remember that.  To repent means to turn from sin and trust in Him.
It’s not just saying, “I’m sorry,” It means making a break from the passing pleasures of sin, of choosing our own way to live our lives, and trusting in Him.  Looking to Him to be our soul’s satisfaction and asking Him to run our lives.
In preparing to build a house this Fall, I’ve learned a lot about contracts.  If you don’t set the terms, someone else will set them for you.
And God is God.  And He offers the only terms acceptable to Him–total surrender.  No bargaining. No giving Him only Sundays and Wednesday Nights.  No token prayers.  Total surrender.
Turn from sin and trust in Him.
If you are an unbeliever or living like one this morning, I call you, with Jesus, to repent.  You are a sinner deserving of Hell (just like I am).  But God is holding your catastrophe back and giving you this chance right now to repent. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Him.  Surrender.  Ask Jesus right now to forgive your sin and rule your life.  Give Him the steering wheel of your life.
If you are a professing believer right now, I call you, with Jesus, to repent.  You and I are no better than those who suffered on Tuesday. We need to turn from our self-satisfied sins and trust in Him.  We need to make Him our All-in-All, our sufficiency, our greatest treasure, our joy.  We need to be able to say, “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also, the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever!”
Our nation needs to repent.  Not just pray, not just hold candlight vigils, not just mourn.  But repent.  I pray that many and not few would bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ because of the warning of this tragedy.  Because if they do not, the real tragedy will be even worse.
On Tuesday, those who had not repented perished–not just once but twice–and the second death is eternal.  But those who had surrendered their lives in repentance to Jesus Christ were ushered into His glorious presence and found out what life truly is.
If you repent today, no matter who you are, you will have life.  God is holding back for repentance, and God is granting life through Jesus to all who surrender to Him.
What is holding you back?
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  But if you do repent, you will have life!

"A Living Hope" [Matt's Messages]

“A Living Hope”Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchSeptember 5, 2021 :: 1 Peter 1:3-7
Who needs some encouragement this morning?
I don’t know anybody who would refuse some true encouragement. 
And I’m finding that these days many Christians need a big healthy dose of it. I know I do.
How badly do you need encouragement today?
What kind of a week have you had? What kind of a week do you expect? What are you facing right now and how do you feel about it? Who needs some encouragement this morning?
Well, get ready to be encouraged!
The Christians to whom the Apostle Peter was writing his letter definitely needed encouragement.
They were suffering.
They were suffering from persecution.
They were hurting.
And they were far from home.
We learned last week in the very first verse that they were exiles, resident foreigners scattered throughout Asia Minor in what is now Northern and Western Turkey. 
And more than just physical ethnic exiles, even more importantly, they were spiritual exiles. They were not in their spiritual homeland either. And neither are we.
This world is not our home. We are citizens of a kingdom that has not yet come in its fullness. We are emissaries and ambassadors of that kingdom, but we are not home yet. We might be in our homes, but our homes are not in our true homeland.
And when we live like citizens of that kingdom that is coming, we often get into trouble with the kingdoms in which we presently live.
That was what these believers in Jesus were experiencing. They were hurting.
And Peter was writing to encourage them.
And, boy, does he!
Peter busts out of the gate with some of the most beautiful and powerful words in the whole New Testament of the Bible.
There is nothing weak in these opening words of his letter!  
Peter tells these elect exiles exactly what they most need to hear.
At the very same time, he doesn’t downplay, at all, what they are going through. There is nothing false or minimizing about their pain.
Peter just gives them a great and shining hope that more than overshadows their suffering. Hope for the hurting. 
He calls it in verse 3, “A Living Hope” and that’ll be the title of our message for today. “A Living Hope.” And there is no hope greater.
Let me read it to you. Verses 3 through 7 of 1 Peter chapter 1.
Amazingly, verses 3 through 12 are one long run-on sentence in the original Greek. Yes. Verses 3 through 12 are one sentence in the original! But I’m going to divide it up into two messages, this week and next, to try to get down into the details a little more. So I had to cut off somewhere, and I picked verse 7 as the cutoff for this week. 1 Peter 1:3-7.

Just reading it is encouraging, isn’t it?
Peter is so positive. He breaks out of the gate with this blessing to God. V.1
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Before we get to talking about how hard it is, we need to start with blessing God for how great He is.
He is so worthy of our praise. "O For a Thousand Tongues to sing" His praise!
We bless His name because we have been so blessed by Him. Here’s what He did. Verse 1 again.
“In his great mercy [so He did something we could never do for ourselves] he [God the Father] has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...”
Now, if I slow down too much, we could spend a whole month on these verses!
This is such good news.
“In his great mercy he has given us [Christians] new birth into a living hope...”
So Christians, you need encouragement?
Start here. You have been given a new birth.
Christians have been born again. That’s something that we can’t do for ourselves. You can’t give yourself birth. But God has done it for us.
“In his great mercy he has given us new birth...”
Where did Peter get that language from?
Well, he was present that night that Nicodemus came to see Jesus, wasn’t he? The original Nick at Nite? John chapter 3. Jesus said, “You must be born again.”
And that’s exactly what’s happened to every genuine Christian in history.
We have experienced a new birth.
Which is really good news because we really needed it!
We needed a new identity. We needed a new citizenship. We needed a new potentiality. We need a new slate. We needed a new us!
You needed a new you.
I needed a new me.
Because we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We might have been walking around, but we were spiritually dead. We were the original Walking Dead.
And we needed a new birth. And God gave it to us. HOW? (V.3 again)
“through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...”
There is a lot of life here, isn’t there?
Jesus was also dead, physically dead, and God raised Him to life.
And that same resurrection power gives you and me new spiritual life, as well.
A new birth into...“a living hope.”
What wonderful words.
Now it’s important to understand what hope is in this context.
Biblical hope like this is not just a wishful feeling.
It is not just “I hope Heather Joy makes me a Texas Sheetcake this week” when Heather Joy has promised me no such thing.
That’s just a wishful feeling.
The only part of that that is hope is that it’s facing into the future.
Hope is always forward looking. Looking for something good in the future.
But this kind of hope is a sure thing.
This kind of hope is a certainty in the heart of something secure in the future.
This is like if Heather Joy promised me a Texas Sheetcake this week, and I know that she has all of the ingredients. (Which by the way, Sweetie, I’m going to the grocery store tomorrow if you want me to pick anything up for you!)
If Heather Joy told me that there would be a Texas Sheetcake some time this week, I would have this kind of hope. And it would be a living hope!
I love that word “living” modifying that word “hope.”
That shows just how powerful this hope is!
What would the opposite be? A dead hope. A cold hope. A stillborn hope. A lifeless hope. A hope that is not going anywhere.
But that’s not the kind of hope that God, in His mercy, has given us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! He has given us a living hope.
A dynamic hope.A vital hope.An active hope.A vibrant hope.
This is a hope that does stuff. Right?
A living hope is a hope that does something.
It’s a hope that lives.It’s a hope that changes your life.It’s a hope that gives you life.
Anybody encouraged yet?
This hope is what is pictured in your baptism. Christian, when you went down into the water, you were picturing your death with Christ. And when you came back up out of the water, you were illustrating your new birth in union with His resurrection!
You were picturing your new birth into a vibrant living hope.
Isn’t that wonderful?
Now, how certain is this hope?
The degree to which this hope lives is the degree to which this hope is secure.
These exiles need to know just how much they can count on this living hope.
Because there aren’t that many things they know that they can count on.
Well, that’s where Peter goes next, and he goes all the way. He says that this hope is perfect and perfectly secure. Verse 4.
In his great mercy God has given us new birth into a life hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead “and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you...”
Now that “and” in verse 4 could also be translated, “that is.” I think that this “inheritance” in verse 4 is the “living hope” of verse 3.
A living hope THAT IS “an inheritance...”
That sounds good, doesn’t it?
An inheritance is a promise of a gift later, isn’t it? Normally, after someone dies.
But it’s something future (like a hope) that is something to look forward to. And it’s promised now for later. The Greek word here was frequently used in the Greek Old Testament for the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. The promised land of the Abrahamic Covenant. 
But it’s not just land here. It’s every single promise that comes with belonging to Jesus!
That’s our inheritance. We don’t have it all yet, but it’s all promised.
And it’s all guaranteed!
Listen to what Peter says about it. Verse 4 again.
It’s “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade...”
That’s perfect in every way.
Name something else that can never perish, spoil, or fade.
Everything perishes.Everything spoils.Everything fades.
But not these promises!Not this inheritance.
And this “kept in heaven for you.”
Exile, that’s your true homeland! And that’s where your inheritance is.
And it’s safe there. It’s perfect. And it’s safe. And it’s perfectly safe.
It’s like a treasure in the First Bank of Heaven guarded by the angels of God and safeguarded by God’s own omnipotent power beyond that. 
And who is going to break into that bank and steal your inheritance?
“Kept in heaven for you.”
Encouraged yet?
That sounds pretty safe and secure.
But I have a worry. Do you have the same worry?
I’m not worried that the inheritance is not safe in heaven.
I’m just worried that I might not make it there to the inheritance.
I’m a little worried because I’m suffering. And I’m worried that I might not make it.
I’m a little worried because I’m suffering. And what does that mean?
Does that mean that I’m doing it wrong?
That I’m lacking faith?
Does this suffering mean that God has abandoned me?
And that I’m not his?
Some of those TV preachers say that God wants me to be healthy and wealthy and successful and prosperous.
And if I’m not, then there is something wrong with me.
And maybe the inheritance is secure, but I am not going to make it.
And that’s why Peter wrote verse 5!
Peter says that the inheritance is being kept in heaven, and that you and I are being kept for the inheritance. Look at verse 5.
You “who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Do you see that? It’s not just the inheritance that is safe and secure from all alarms.
So are all of God the Father’s children!
We are “shielded” by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
It’s like we’re in a armed car from the First Bank of Heaven, protected by the same security force that guards the bank in heaven, and is safely delivering us through all of the foreign territory to get to the bank to claim our inheritance.
And that shield is in place “until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
That’s when Jesus Christ returns.
We have been saved when we were born again.We are being saved as we’re being shielded.And one day, we will be saved when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Anybody encouraged yet?!
“He will hold me fastHe will hold me fastFor My Savior loves me soHe will hold me fast.” 
That is our hope.
And it is perfectly safe.
It is perfect. And it is safe. And it is perfectly safe.
Kept in heaven for us.
And we’re being kept for it.
BUT we are not being kept from suffering.
We’re being protected from apostasy. We’re being protected from Satan. We’re being protected from spiritual death.
But we’re not being protected from persecution.We’re not being protected from suffering.We’re not being protected from pain. V.6
“In this [living hope] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
Peter knows.
Peter knows how much these Christians are hurting.
And he’s not minimizing their pain. He’s certainly not saying that it’s all their fault.
Or that they are doing something wrong. That’s why it hurts. No!
He’s saying that it’s normal to “suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
Including persecution.Including disease.Including breakdowns in relationships.
It’s normal. Suffering is normal. It is to be expected in this lifetime.
Jesus went through it. Why would we think we won’t?!
“All kinds of trials.”
They are not a punishment.They are not a surprise (or at least they shouldn’t be).And they are not proof of unbelief.
In fact, these trials have come through the Father’s hand to do the exact opposite! They have come to show that you and I are real. Look at verse 7.
“These [various trials] have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold [what a phrase!], which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
In turns out that God has a purpose for our pain.
There is divine reason for this fire.
Satan may want us to hurt. But God uses the pain to refine us.
It’s a smelting process.
He is refining us through the heat of suffering.
The impurities, the dross, are being removed and what is left is Christlikeness.
I think that’s encouraging.
It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt. It hurts.
It hurts.
But it helps to know that there is a purpose in the pain.
And that if it hurts, it doesn’t mean I’m doing it wrong.
In fact, it probably means that I’m doing it right.
So, I grieve and lament, like we learned how to do in the Psalms.
But I also hope. I trust and I hope. And I rejoice.
Peter says that we have a living hope. And that means this hope lives and it does stuff. Living things grow and do stuff.
Here are three things I see that this hope does in you and me.
#1. IT MAKES US REJOICE.
The living hope makes us rejoice. Don’t miss the first words of verse 6 for all the pain and suffering!
“In this [living hope] you greatly rejoice[!]”
Yes, it hurts. But we have a hope that is greater than the pain. And we have every reason to be overjoyed, to exult, to dance.

Just spend some time today marinating in verses 3 through 5, and your heart will rejoice.
#2. IT HELPS US TRUST.
This living hope helps us trust God through all of the trials that we face.
That’s our part. God is supplying all of the power here. Our job is just to place our faith in Him.
Verse 5 mentions our faith. We are trusting in His work in us.
Verse 7 mentions our faith, and how precious it is. It’s of greater worth than gold!
So we need to exercise it. We need to trust in the Lord even in the face of terrible suffering.
And we can! Because of what God has done in the resurrection and in our new births.
What are you facing right now?
You can trust Him in that situation.
You can trust Him.
Hold on.
Hold on to Him.
It’s just going to be a “little while.”
Did you hear that in verse 6? These trials may come for a “little while.”
Now that little while might be 90 or 100 years.
But compared to eternity? Compared to an inheritance that can NEVER perish, NEVER spoil, and NEVER fade?
That’s just a second.
Hold on. Trust Him and hold onto Him.
Hold onto this living hope. Because...
#3. IT LEADS US TO GLORY.
Look one more time at verse 7. Look at the end result of trusting in this living hope!
This “may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
You know, it doesn’t say who gets the praise, glory, and honor.
It’s certainly Jesus that does because He deserve it all.
But I think from the grammar here, that we get to share in it, somehow, someway.
We are so vitally connected to Him that we get to somehow, someway enjoy the praise, glory, and honor with Him when Jesus comes again.
This living hope leads us to glory!
The enjoyment of His glory forever and ever and ever!
How’s that for encouraging?!

***
Previous Messages in This Series
01. "Elect Exiles" 1 Peter 1:1-2

“Elect Exiles” [Matt's Messages]

“Elect Exiles” Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchAugust 29, 2021 :: 1 Peter 1:1-2
Your Bible might just naturally open to the Psalms. For a year now, we’ve been bouncing around the Songbook in the center of our Bibles, studying the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament. So it might be a little strange to go back to studying a letter in the New Testament. Letters are written differently than songs! And you read them differently, as well.
But I thought as we started a new school year, it was probably a good time to change over what we are focusing upon in God’s Word.
I don’t expect to spend a full year in 1 Peter like we did in Psalms, but it is worthy of our focus and attention today.
I prayed a lot about and thought a lot about what to study next, and I finally landed on 1 Peter. I believe 1 Peter speaks to the church in our current moment in ways that we need to hear. Some encouraging and some challenging. I hope to both encourage and challenge us from 1 Peter every single Sunday of this sermon series.
I actually have preached through 1 Peter one time before for this church. It was exactly 20 years ago. Strangely enough, it was right about the same time the US military invaded Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Twenty eventful years have now gone by, and I believe that the message of God’s Word in 1 Peter is even more relevant for us today, if that’s possible.
We’re only going to make it through the first two verses this morning, but you will see that there is a full spiritual meal in just these two verses.
If this was an email, we wouldn’t be getting very far past the headings at the top:
Who wrote it.To whom it was written.And a basic Christian greeting.
But there is so much in here!
Let me read these two verses to you, and then we’ll get into the details together. I’ll be reading today from the 2011 update of the New International Version. And, you’ll notice the title of this message is found in two e-words right next to each other in verse 1: “Elect Exiles.”
Those are two very important words that tell us who we are and where we are. 
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

Two weeks ago, I did NOT get lost in New York City.
It would have been easy to get lost in New York City. Have you ever been there?
That’s a big city with a lot of streets and a lot of people and a lot of big tall buildings.
My wife and son and my brother’s family went up to the top of Rockefeller Center. “The Top of the Rock.” I’m not a big one for heights, so I myself stayed down on the street at the bottom of “The Rock” and went for a walk. I was supposed to try to find a place for us to eat lunch.
And did I get lost? No, I did not. (Though maybe it would have been a better story!)
Why I didn’t I get lost? Because I had a phone with me with GPS and Google Maps.
And I had my bluetooth earpiece in, and it actually gave me directions of where to go. “Turn left on 5th Avenue. Turn right on Broadway.” That sort of thing.
If I looked at the little screen, there was actually a little moving dot on a map that told me, “You are here.”
So I did NOT get lost.
Now, imagine waking up on the street somewhere in New York City with NO phone in your hand, and not only do you not know WHERE you are, you don’t remember WHO you are.
Think about how disorienting that would be.
No wallet either. No identification. And no trustworthy memories.
You don’t know WHERE you are, and you have forgotten WHO you are.
And so you try to piece it all together. 
And you ask other people on the street who you are.
And you ask some people on the street where you are.
And they begin to look at you funny. And some of them take advantage of you and tell you the wrong things. Just imagine. How disorienting!
I think that life itself can be like that. Even for Christians. We can lose our bearings. We can lose our orientation. We can lose track of where we are and even who we are–which will cause us no end of problems.
So the Apostle Peter’s first letter is a wonderful gift to us because it is a Word from God that tells us WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE ARE, and EVEN WHOSE WE ARE and therefore HOW TO LIVE.
1 Peter is wonderfully orienting.
It’s like that moving map on your phone. 
This is you, and this is where you are, and here’s what to do next.
Now, not everything Peter tell us is fun and exciting. I don’t like everything that Peter tells me about myself or where I am or what to do next!
There is a lot in here, for example, about suffering. I don’t want to suffer, but Peter says that suffering is normal for followers of Jesus. “Don’t be surprised.”
And there is a lot of other stuff in here that I don’t necessarily feel much like doing most of the time.
But at least I’m not lost.
Because I read 1 Peter, I know who I am and where I am and how to live accordingly.
Does that sound good?
I hope so. Let’s get into 1 Peter, and I’ll try to show you what I mean.
The letter begins by identifying the author. Verse 1.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ...”
It’s from Rocky himself. The Apostle who was named Simon that Jesus renamed “Peter,” the original “Rock.”
Remember him from our study of the Gospel of Matthew? Peter’s probably most people’s favorite disciple from the gospels because he’s so loud and forward and relatable, right? You’ve gotta love Peter. 
We loved him so much, we named one our sons after him!
Well, this Peter is all growed-up now. And he is not just a disciple. He is an apostle, an authorized representative speaking authoritatively for Jesus Christ Himself.
This is a Word from God. It is not just Peter’s opinion. This is a Word from God that tells us who we are and where we are and how to live accordingly.
The very next words in verse 1, tell us not just who was to get this letter, but WHO WE ARE and WHERE WE ARE. V.1 again.
“To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia...”
Peter wrote this letter to God’s elect exiles.
To be “elect” means to be chosen. When you have an election, you are choosing someone for something.
And these precious people to whom Peter was writing were God’s elect. People whom God had chosen.
He’s going to say some more about that in verse 2. It’s a glorious and comforting truth. It is incredibly orienting to know yourself as in God’s chosen people. God’s elect.
It’s not as encouraging, perhaps, to see yourself as an exile.
To see yourself as displaced and outside of your homeland.
Peter says that he is writing to these chosen people who are exiles “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia...”
Those are places in modern day Turkey.
You might want to look at a map in the back of your Bible this afternoon and find “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.” Those were the names of regions in what we call “Asia Minor.” Not Asia as in China and over there on the Pacific. This is Asia Minor, where modern day Turkey is. Northern and Western Turkey. 
And these 5 Roman provinces are kind of in a circle on the map. Perhaps the circle in which the letter would have been circulated as it made its way to the churches? Or maybe just a circle in the mental map in Peter’s mind as he thinks about where he wants this letter to land.
There were Jews in all of those places in the first century. All of those places were mentioned as sending locations for Jews present on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. Perhaps those people got saved that day and went back to their homes with the gospel and planted littler churches. We call the dispersement of Jews in the world the “diaspora” which is the Greek word here behind the NIV’s “scattered.” So these could have been Jewish Christians scattered among the Roman provinces.
Or it could have just been Gentile Christians scattered in those same places maybe even scattered out from Rome where Peter probably was when he wrote this. We don’t know for certain.
We do know for certain that Peter wanted them to think about themselves as exiles.
Or if you have the 1984 New International Version, as “strangers in the world.”
Now, the believers that Peter was writing to might have been literal exiles living outside their true homeland, but I’m certain that Peter was making a point not just about their location on the map, but their own self-identity as followers of Christ.
Because he’s going to hit this idea more in this letter. In verse 17, he’s going to call them to live their lives as strangers, as foreigners. And what did we see in our brand new memory verse this morning? Peter urges them “as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires...” Same word “exiles.”
This is their Christian identity. They are elect, and they are exiles.
And so are you and I.
To God’s elect, exiles in Lanse, Grassflat, Drifting, Winburne, Kylertown, Allport, and Morrisdale. Elect exiles.
What does that mean? Especially, practically speaking. What does that mean for us?
Let me give you some shorthand.
#1. ELECT.
That means that you are very loved. You are very loved.
Here’s the other one:
#2. EXILE. 
That means that you are very displaced. You are very displaced.
Let me talk a little bit more about that second one first because it’s the one that’s not so pleasant.
To be an “exile,” like this verse says, means that you are very displaced.
You are living somewhere that is not your homeland.
It’s your home at this point, but it’s not your homeland.
The NET Bible has "to those temporarily residing" and a footnote saying, “to those living as resident foreigners." That's really helpful. (NOTE: I had mistakenly quoted this as being the CSB in the live version and video version. CSB actually has "living as exiles.")
So you are not a tourist. You have come to live somewhere, but it’s not your homeland. It’s not your heartland. You are not a citizen of this place even though right now it is your temporary home.
Do you get the picture?
My mind goes to these precious Afghan refugees that have gotten on a plane and been shipped to somewhere else, perhaps Qatar and then taken through the US State Department’s rigorous vetting process, and then brought to the US. Perhaps they get off a plane in Sacramento, California where a lot of Afghan refugees have been resettled by Christian groups like World Relief that Heather and I support [the closest WR regional office is in Rochester].
And these precious people made in the image of God and coming from a war-torn homeland have to adjust to a completely different place, a different language, a different way of life, while probably their hearts are longing and worried about what is going on back “home.”
They are living in a home but not their “home.”
That’s how you and I are supposed to live as followers of Jesus Christ in this world.
This world is not your home.
You are not at home.
Do you feel that? Do you know that? Sometimes I think we need reminded.
I think that Christians often can lose their bearings and begin to believe that this world is their home. And this culture is their culture. And this country is their country. And this particular political party is their political party. This sports team is their sports team. This biological natural family is their family.
And we get too comfortable.
We begin to take on the values of this world, this culture, this country, this political party, this sports team, this natural family. We begin to look like and talk like and act just like the rest of the people in the world.
And we begin to find and place our identity in things of this world instead of in Christ. We make our major identity markers our culture, our country, our party, our sports team, our family, or whatever, our brand (Marvel or DC!).
But those are not our home.
America is not our home if we are Christians.
We are just “resident foreigners” wherever we are.
Now in the case of the Afghans, some of them will eventually get to American Citizenship which for them will be a wonderful thing. Because their homeland is not heavenly (right now), and it’s okay and even good for them to become true citizens of the new place they live. 
But that’s not our case. We are supposed to think of ourselves not as refugees but missionaries. Not as citizens but as ambassadors of our true homeland.
Does that make sense? Do you see what I’m saying?
We are to see to ourselves as very displaced. Exiles. Continually temporary resident  foreigners.
A year ago, we saw the same basic idea pop up in Philippians chapter 3. Remember “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ...” He is our king.
Now, we do live here in America. And as “resident foreigners,” so to speak, we are called to live for the good of our current home even if it’s not our true homeland.
We’re going to see that as we go further into 1 Peter. We are, in fact, supposed to be some of the best “citizens” that really-ultimately-non-citizens of a place can be! Paul was a Roman citizen himself. The one who said that our citizenship is in heaven.
But we are not supposed to get too comfortable. We are not allowed to make it our identity. Citizens are not what we are. We are exiles.
And...the world will make sure that if we’re doing it right, we can’t get too comfortable!
In fact, we will suffer.
These Christians were suffering, and we should prepare ourselves to suffer, too.
Because we are God’s exiles. We are very displaced. That’s where we are on the map. We are not at home.
But that’s okay. Because we are also God’s elect. We are very loved.
That’s who we are. We are very loved.
You are very loved.
Do you know that? Do you feel that?
You are very very loved.
Peter wants you to know not just WHERE you are on the map (not home), but WHO are you and WHOSE you are.
You are God’s elect.
Look at verse 2 to see just some of what that means!
Peter builds off of the words “elect” and “exile” to show in what ways we are elect and in what manner we are exiled. Look at verse 2.
Elect exiles “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
Wow. Just wow.
Do you see how the entire Trinity is at work here?
You are loved by the Triune God. The Father, the Spirit, the Son.
You have been “chosen [elected] according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”
Here’s how loved you are. God the Father picked you.
You are chosen.You are wanted.You are known.You are loved.
Now, some people have a hard time with the doctrine of election. That, ultimately, God does the choosing.
And it is a hard doctrine to wrap your mind around.
But most of the time when the doctrine of election shows up in the Bible, it is not a problem to be solved but a glorious truth to revel in!
You are chosen.
According to the foreknowledge of God the Father. It didn’t just happen. God didn’t just say one, “Oh my. Where did that one come from? How did she get in here?”
No, God knew beforehand, before you were ever born, that He was going to save you!
He placed His love on you on purpose. It’s no accident.
And you didn’t have to take the initiative.
The Father chose you beforehand for adoption.
He is not just God the Father. He is your Father God!
So, it’s okay to live in exile. Because your Father[!] knows where you live, and He’s there, too.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be away from home with this Father than somewhere I feel completely comfortable but apart from this Father!
And not just the Father, but the Spirit. Verse 2, elect exiles “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit.”
“Sanctifying” is just a big word that means to be set apart. It’s another word for “being made holy.” Holy-fying something.
When we became Christians, we were set apart, consecrated by the Holy Spirit and now are being set apart, being made holy by that same Holy Spirit.
In other words, we are chosen to be different.
That’s going to be one of the major themes of this book.
You and I have been saved to live holy lives, different from the world around us.
That’s part of what it means to think of ourselves as exiles, as resident foreigners.
This world is not my home. I’m in it, but I’m not of it.
I’m American, but I’m not American.I’m a resident of Lanse, but I’m not a Lanse-ien.I’m a Mitchell, but I’m not a Mitchell.
Not when any of those things conflict in any way with my ultimate allegiance, my true homeland.
I’m not ultimately an American. I’m a Christian.I’m not ultimately a Lanse-ien. I’m a Christian.I’m not ultimately a Mitchell. I’m a Christian.
I’m different. I’m a resident foreigner. I’m an exile.
And I’m loved so much by God that His Spirit is making me holy like Him!
You are loved by the Triune God.
You are elect exiles, “for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling with his blood.”
We were chosen not just to spend eternity with Jesus, but to obey Jesus.
To come to faith in Him and follow Him with our very lives.
Have you done that? Have you chosen to follow Jesus?
Are you choosing to follow Jesus? Are you obeying Him?
Does your life look distinctly different from the non-Christians around you?
You are loved by the Triune God.
God accepts you just as you are but loves you too much to let you stay that way.
I learned that line 25 years ago, and it’s so true!
God accepts you just as you are but loves you too much to let you stay that way.
You have been chosen for obedience to Jesus Christ and “sprinkling by his blood.”
THAT’s how much you are loved! You are very very loved.
Jesus Christ’s blood seals the deal. It ratifies the New Covenant (see Exodus 34:3-8).
I think Peter is alluding to the ratification of the Old Covenant in Exodus 34 where there was a sprinkling of blood. You might want to read that this afternoon.
And Peter is saying that Jesus’ blood ratifies the New Covenant and saves us from our sins. It affects our adoption into the Father’s family and our consecration by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ.
That’s how much we are loved! You may be very displaced. But that’s okay because you are very loved. 
That’s what it means to be God’s elect.It means that Jesus shed His blood for us.
“Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! / Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!”
Ok. Do you know where you are right now?Do you know who you are right now?Do you know whose you are right now?
You are God’s elect exiles.
And here’s what happens when you are. Verse 2.
The words here are so much more than a simple greeting: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
That’s what I want for me.That’s what I want for you.That’s what I want for Lanse Free Church in the Fall of 2021.
And that’s what I pray we will find as we study 1 Peter together in the weeks to come.
Grace and peace.